Page 26 of Pressure

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Lance watched Marissa as she went back to her computer. He’d been dreading this conversation and hadn’t expected her to respond so positively.

“Marissa,” he said in a low voice.

Her head stayed down as she reached blindly into her bag, pulling out headphones.

It was her favorite tactic when she didn’t want to talk about something.

He sighed. Maybe the conversation hadn’t gone as well as he thought. And they hadn’t even talked about Jodie yet. He winced as he remembered the newer house sub who currently wore his bracelet.

“Can we talk about this?” he asked before she could turn her music on.

She jerked the headphones off and looked at him.

“I don’t know what there is to talk about, Lance. I’m willing to go along with the plan but if you think I’m actually going to be submissive to you again, you’re out of your mind. I’ll pretend, but if you cross a line I’ll just go upstairs and hide until the party is over. I would rather not do that, though. I want to meet these people and get a read on them. You know I’m good at reading people.”

He stood and rounded the table to drop into the chair next to her.

“I have no intention of crossing any lines or trying to sleep with you. But it needs to look real and I want to make sure we know how to do that without getting too deep into each other’s heads. Kink is heady for both of us and we’re not known for taking things slow. You may deny it all you want but we still have chemistry and I want to respect you and your boundaries by not ramping you up.”

He searched her face as he spoke, looking for any sign that she was going to back out.

Her cheeks turned a rosy pink and she seemed uncomfortable under his gaze.

“You’re right,” she said after a long moment of silence passed between them. “I appreciate the concern you’re showing. I’m sure we can get through a weekend without killing each other or jumping into bed together.”

He would go to bed with Marissa in a heartbeat, but he was making a promise here and now that even though they were stuck together for the next few days, he wouldn’t give in to that desire and attempt to seduce her.

“The party is in a few hours. Do we need a code word for if we need to slip away and talk or you need to just disappear for a while?”

Marissa smiled. “How about Firewall.”

Lance chuckled. “Sounds good. Do you need something to wear? New house subs wear all black and I’ll give you a bracelet to wear that signifies you’re my trainee.”

“I’ve got something. I’ll need to go back to the hotel.”

“I’ll stay here and keep digging into Isabelle’s application. Before you go, though, there’s one more thing.”

“That sounds ominous.”

He cleared his throat and rubbed at the back of his neck. “I um. I technically already have a house sub and you’ll likely have to interact with her tonight. She’s only been part of the program for a few weeks but she’s not new to the club.”

Marissa groaned. “Seriously? You want me to be all buddy-buddy with another sub wearing your bracelet?”

“No. I’m just asking you not to be rude to her and I didn’t want to just spring her on you.”

“Do you sleep with her?”

“Why? You jealous?”

Marissa huffed. “Of course not. I’m just wondering if I’m going to have to watch you suck face with her all night.”

“Suck face? Who even says that anymore?”

She slammed her mouse against the table repeatedly. “Clearly I do.”

“Hey, don’t take it out on the mouse. What’s wrong?”

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